The first quarter of 2008 saw applications from asylum seekers rise by SIXTEEN per cent on the same period last year.
In contrast, applications to the rest of the EU actually FELL by 10%.

Why?

Is nobody in the British government giving out the message across the world that we are no longer encouraging applications for asylum? …the message that the British people don’t want any more asylum seekers?

If not, why not?
Which part of ‘no more asylum seekers’ and ‘no more immigrants’ does the Home Office not understand? How many times do we have to say it?

Apart from the negative and divisive effect they have on our society, in the current economic climate we can’t afford it.

The Home Office Asylum Statistics report shows that the numbers amount to 6595 for the quarter, excluding the applicants’ dependants.   Of these, some 69% were claiming for free accommodation & subsistence as well – not just for us to allow them in.   So the British taxpayer would be paying their rent, food and living expenses indefinitely while they ‘integrated’ into our society – and we know how successful that has been.

Of these, according to the Home Office,  1,875 applications were granted such support – only 1% down on the same period last year, despite the public outcry against asylum seekers – projecting a total of around 7,500 people receiving financial support from us in 2008 and beyond, for heaven knows how long.

And that’s just those who’ve turned up in England this year, never mind previous years.  These are of course the official asylum applications, and don’t include the hordes of illegal immigrants and expanded-EU Eastern Europeans also coming into the country and presenting themselves for benefits and accommodation.

Taking a ball-park figure of £1000 / month for rent, food and expenses for each official applicant, this amounts to a £90million cost to the taxpayer for their first year alone.  How long will they take to find work and come off financial support?  Two years?  Three years?  Five years?  What’s their incentive?  Many are still ‘seeking work’ or their cases are unresolved after 8 years.

So that’s £90million in direct extra costs to the taxpayer each year, and it carries on snowballing year by year.   There will also be a cost to us in the lack of sufficient housing for our own citizens who may be in need, plus the huge extra strain on NHS resources used by immigrants as soon as they get here.
Many will arrive in a poor state of health because of the conditions they have left behind and are in need of long-term care and medication, the result of which can be seen in  local GP surgeries, or hospitals and maternity wards as they begin to have more children.

Again, using up scarce NHS resources hits our own elderly and sick – the very people to whom we should give first priority.   The people who, in many cases,  served us during wars and have paid into the state system for many years.
Now, at their time of need and towards the end of their lives, our society says to them “Sorry, we don’t have enough housing, hospital beds and we can’t afford the medication to help you.  But if you’re an asylum seeker or an illegal immigrant   – that’s different.      How many houses and beds would you like?”

It’s one of the biggest crimes we can commit against our own people, while foreigners continue to queue up and be let in.   Absolutely scandalous.

What’s the answer?
Ultimately we have to protest and make our voice heard, for any action to be taken. Governments – of any persuasion – just don’t seem to listen to the people any more.

Contact your MP, try to get information from your local authority on what immigrants and asylum seekers are costing you locally (they will probably tell you that they don’t collect data on the nationality of council house tenants or benefits recipients, but push harder under the Freedom of Information Act).

But perhaps more importantly, go straight to the top and get as many people as you can to sign a petition on the Prime Minister’s website – it’s very easy and we’ll be announcing a new petition very soon on the question of immigration and asylum seekers.